1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus, a system, a management method, and a computer program that are suitably used particularly for managing processing of electronic documents.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has conventionally been available a system designed to limit processing of electronic documents (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-355610). Such a system can distribute electronic documents to users under certain restrictions. Specifically, a manager of electronic documents (e.g., creator or owner of electronic documents) can allow the users to read the distributed electronic documents while inhibiting printing of the distributed electronic documents by printers or editing of the distributed electronic documents by terminal apparatuses. Thus, according to the conventional technology, a manager of electronic documents can define settings as to who will get what authority regarding electronic documents.
However, when a need arises to change contents of the setting as to authority about electronic documents, according to the conventional technology, the manager has to change the setting as occasion demands. For example, when there is a need to temporarily allow a certain user to print an electronic document for some reason, the manager has to first change contents of the setting from inhibition of printing of the electronic document to temporary permission of printing of the electronic document. Then, upon completion of printing of the electronic document, the manager returns the setting to inhibition of printing of the electronic document.
As described above, according to the conventional technology, the change of setting as to the authority about electronic documents is always made by the manager of the electronic documents. When the setting is changed to permit printing of the electronic document and is then returned to original contents as in the aforementioned example, the manager of the electronic document must check completion of printing of the electronic document before returning the setting to the original contents. In this case, to check the completion of printing of the electronic document, the manager of the electronic document has to wait for a report of the completion of printing of the electronic document from the user himself. Such report transfer is cumbersome for both of the electronic document manager and the user, thus causing a great reduction in usability of the system.
Thus, according to the conventional technology, to manage an authority about electronic documents, great time and labor may be imposed on the electronic document manager or the user.